When a schedule starts to slip, the project manager should be ready to jump in and get things back on track. Here are some strategies the PM can use that do not involve forcing everyone to work 80-hour work weeks.

What's a reasonable amount of time to devote to planning a project? I use this rule of thumb: If it is a low-uncertainty project (i.e., we've completed another with similar conditions in the past, wit ...

Efficient management of employee resources puts projects on the road to success. On the same token, failing to manage resources properly can lead to project blunders, overtime, budget overflow and other damaging results.

There’s plenty of pressure to try to finish projects faster. Sometimes that pressure comes from outside the team, from our managers. When it does, the team can succumb to two common agile schedule games: “Double Your Velocity” and “Everyone Start Your Own Story.” If you face these games, you do have options before they destroy your project.

When missed task deadlines start to become a problem, it’s often due to one or more of four reasons. Examining these key possibilities can help get to the root of the problem--and get the project team back on track toward on-time delivery of critical project tasks.

This document defines five factors-or "secrets"-which, when consistently implemented together, result in project schedules that are more likely to be used and maintained throughout the life of a project. A project schedule that is followed and maintained throughout a project can provide early identification of potential schedule slippage, project risks and other issues.

Delays in schedules are quite common, and construction schedules are no exception. The delay could be created by the owners, consultants, architects, general contractor, subcontractor, suppliers or by some other extraordinary event. Whatever the cause, the costs of these delays could be significant, and fixing them may take a long time. Here's some help in being prepared.

You’ve come up with a schedule for your software development project. Now how do you get your clients or even your own corporate higher-ups to accept it? If you compress your schedule too much, you won’t meet anyone’s expectations of functionality, cost and timeframe, and your project might fail—right along with your project management career!